The Green Bay Packers have a bunch of young, talented wide receivers. Jayden Reed may be the most talented, but he’s not quite the alpha. Should fantasy football managers be targeting Reed in Best Ball drafts?
Jayden Reed’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
One of the advantages of Best Ball leagues compared to managed leagues is you can’t make the incredible blunder I made in all of my managed leagues last year. That was drafting Reed in 100% of them and dropping him in 100% of them due to roster constraints and his lack of a consistent early-season role.
If you took Reed in Best Ball, you benefited from his spike weeks. And in the weeks where he did nothing, someone else entered your lineup.
Ideally, Reed would have a larger weekly role this season. However, when we last saw the Packers play, Reed was not a featured part of the offense.
There were games last season where the Packers went out of their way to scheme the ball to their dynamic rookie. Then, there were games like the NFL playoffs, where Reed played 46% and 61% of the snaps and saw seven total targets in two games.
Jayden Reed showing off the wheels on the TD run for #GoPackGo❕ pic.twitter.com/wPrBTLvFc4
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 12, 2023
There’s no denying Reed’s talent. He was efficient on his limited touches last season, and I say touches as opposed to targets because Reed was utilized plenty as a runner, as well, carrying the ball 11 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Reed operated primarily out of the slot as a receiver, running 67% of his routes from that alignment. He only commanded a 17.6% target share but was targeted on 24.4% of his routes run, 26th in the league. Reed didn’t run many routes, but the Packers threw to him when he did.
This was frustrating for fantasy managers because of the belief that Reed could be even better with more opportunities. The young wideout averaged 2.31 fantasy points per target, fifth in the league, and he averaged 0.56 fantasy points per route run, eighth in the league.
Of course, those numbers would drop with increased volume. But the fact that Reed was so efficient establishes that he’s really good at football and suggests he could outperform efficiency expectations with more work.
Should You Draft Reed in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
The problem with drafting Reed in 2024 is that I don’t expect anything to be different. In theory, Reed should be better. As a football player, I’m sure he will be with another year’s worth of experience. Unfortunately, the Packers have been pretty open about how they want to utilize their receivers.
Some weeks, we will get a heavy dose of Reed. In other weeks, it will be Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, or even Bo Melton. The Packers have a bunch of young receivers and utilize them all.
I fear Reed may once again be a frustrating player to figure out in fantasy. Fortunately, in Best Ball, managers don’t have to figure him out.
Reed had five games of at least 19 fantasy points last season and another two with 15+. In Best Ball, you automatically get Reed those weeks. The concern is whether it’s worth spending a fifth- or sixth-round pick on a guy who may not enter your lineup for half the season.
As much as I love Reed as a player, I am skeptical he will improve beyond the volatile 13.6 fantasy points per game he averaged last season. However, given his weekly upside, the spike weeks may very well be worth it. Reed is someone fantasy managers should look at more in Best Ball than managed leagues in 2024.
KEEP READING: Best Ball Stacking Strategy
